In the first round of the Rule 5 draft, the Red Sox selected 24-year old RHP Miguel Gonzales out of the Angels organization. SoxProspects.com already has a page on him; he throws in the low 90s with good command, mixing a slider and a changeup. He has worked as botha starter and a reliever at Double-A, but missed all of 2008 with a knee injury. He seems to be fully recovered, as he played well in the Mexican Winter League. According to Rule 5, he must stay on the Major League 40-man roster all year, or else be sent back to the Angels.

It was announced today that Dustin Pedroia signed a 6-year deal with the Red Sox worth $40.5M. The deal locks him in until 2014, two years beyond his free agency-eligibility year, and includes a team option for 2015 (which is voided in the event of a trade). Pedey is thrilled with the contract, and understandably so. Pretty heady stuff for the 5-9 (wink, wink) second baseman, who’s already been an All-Star and won Rookie of the Year, a Silver Slugger, a Gold Glove and AL MVP awards. It’s hard to believe that the guy has yet to reach his prime years, and there’s a lot of good baseball left to come from him. Here’s the money breakdown:

Yesterday was the deadline for teams to offer salary arbitration to their impending free agents. This is important because if the player accepts, the team must go through the arbitration process to hammer out a one-year deal with the player. If he refuses, it means that if/when he signs with another team, the Red Sox will get compensated with draft picks if they are Type A or Type B status.